9 Foods That Help You Lose Weight

Of all the weight-loss methods out there—the baby food diet, prancercise, swallowing a tapeworm—this is by far the most appealing: Eat a cookie for breakfast. (We are not shitting you.) Check out these yummy foods that practically melt away calories, courtesy of Jessica Crandall, RDN, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Cake

Cake

A study from Tel Aviv University found that people who had a carbohydrate- and protein-packed breakfast followed by dessert lost more weight than those who started the day with a low-carb, sugar-free meal. Participants who indulged in a small treatchocolate, a doughnut, a cookie, or a piece of cakereported feeling less hungry and having fewer cravings throughout the day. At the end of the eight-month trial, they'd lost an average of 45 pounds, compared to just 11 pounds for the low-carb dieters.

Soup

Soup

Torn between the gazpacho vs. tuna tartare starter? Order the gazpacho. According to research out of Penn State, eating low-calorie soup before a meal triggers people to consume an average of 20 percent fewer calories overall. Obvi, stick to healthy, brothy options instead of fat-bombs like cheddar-broccoli or New England clam chowder.